Uncanny Valley
by Velvetblight Belial
Summary: Maybe they should have Minded their own business.


_"_ _I'm searching for a whole new beginning, an endless void. This notion that I sense within me, you're still by my side."_

\- Ludvig Forssell, _Metal Gear Solid V_

 _"Who is doing this? Such a lust for revenge. WHOOOOO!"_

\- Skull Face, _Metal Gear Solid V_

* * *

Edge and Reimi stood back to back as they caught their breath. An army of smoldering military robots was strewn around their feet. The battle had worn the two SRF soldiers down to the point of exhaustion, but it was over. Now they could retrieve the important mission item they had been sent for.

Or so they thought.

Two large dome-shaped formations–which Edge and Reimi had previously assumed were simply part of the sterile industrial surroundings—rose up on small mechanical wheels on opposite sides of the complex. They quickly shuffled out from the rows of other idle domes. Each one vaguely resembled a Roomba and was roughly the size of a small spacecraft.

"Here we go again," Edge muttered as he raised his sword. He and Reimi hadn't counted on these top secret anti-personnel weapons being part of the base's defenses.

The two machines had a rather minimalist appearance. Their rounded bodies were made out of seamless white metal, and they each housed a pulsating green sphere that protruded halfway from their tops. They were identical except for the shape of the large green mono-eye on their "face." On one unit, it was shaped like the tip of a sword pointing upward. On the other, it was styled like the letter U.

Neither Edge nor Reimi knew what these robots were. They also had no idea what the machines were saying in their silent electronic thoughts.

 _[AndroMinder Unit 316 online – Larval Mode.]_

 _[GynoMinder Unit 420 online – Larval Mode.]_

The fighting started quickly, but didn't last for long. With no strategy for what they were fighting or where to aim their sword and bow, most of Edge and Reimi's attacks were ineffective.

Suddenly, the robot with the U face opened the green sphere on its top and unleashed a set of serpent-like silver arms toward Reimi. They wrapped around her wrists and waist while she was trying to aim her next shot.

"Edge!" Reimi screamed.

"Reimi, no!" Edge ran toward her with his hand extended, but it was too late.

The arms hoisted Reimi through the air and pulled her and her compound bow into the robot's coolant-filled core. The green orb closed around her and only left her dark outline visible from the outside. Countless cables emerged from the inside of the circular frame and attached to every portion of Reimi's body. They kept her on life support while protecting her from possible G-forces as the robot moved around.

Reimi's shadow pounded against the glass bulb for a few seconds. Then she was floating limply in the solution.

 _[Sufficient GynoTransmorphosis materials acquired. Now calibrating Adult Mode.]_

As Edge continued to fight the first robot, the second robot suddenly grew a pair of full-length legs and stood upright, shifting Reimi's prison sphere roughly into the center of its torso. Its elevated heels and the extra layer of white metal around its ankles had a familiar appearance.

A pair of white arms emerged from its rounded sides and reached down to its shrinking waist. The robot with the U face was gradually losing its simple bulbous form and taking on a refined hourglass shape. Specifically, it was Reimi's hourglass, only scaled up around eight times its original size.

The gaps between its ball-shaped head and its new arms took on the shape of feminine shoulders, and then padded white armor wrapped over them. A skirt made out of white and gold armor pleats slid down from its waist. Edge barely dodged the robot as it lunged at him with a high kick, displaying far too much balance and coordination for a machine its size.

A long trail of pink power cables grew from the back of its head to mimic Reimi's ponytail. A radio antenna extended on the left side, in the same place as Reimi's hair ornament. It flexed its left arm, and a massive array of laser weapons arranged like a bow unfolded from its joints and plugged into a socket on its hand. The robot kept its U shaped mono-eye, but small vents emerged that vaguely resembled the shape of Reimi's closed lips.

 _[Transmorphosis complete. Onboard resources depleted. Converting materials for nuclear fuel cell recharging.]_

Edge watched in horror as the green bulb encasing Reimi began to glow with a blinding intensity. Reimi's unconscious shadow dissolved into twinkling specks in the life support fluid, and then the specks disappeared completely.

 _[Enemy GynoPersonnel recycled. Fuel cells at full capacity. Adult Mode finalized.]_

The mecha-Reimi glanced down with an almost angry look in its mono-eye. As it pointed its laser bow at Edge, its AndroMinder partner closed in behind him.


End file.
